I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 332 Open the champagne at halftime
It could also be said to be fortunate that, before the Xianbei cavalry marched south into Han territory, the transport team sent by Yuan Shu once again delivered a large amount of grain, risking their lives to reach Qiangyin County.

After receiving the last batch of grain in this short period of time, Lian Da ordered the last passage to the outside world to be blocked with pits and chevaux-de-frise. As for whether it could be opened up, that depended on whether the Xianbei people's engineering capabilities were up to standard.

However, Lian Da was not too worried, because thanks to the hard work and expedited efforts during this period, the defensive capabilities of the entire Qiangyin County had made great progress. Although it was still not as good as the defensive capabilities of Maoling County back then, Lian Da believed that this simple war fortress was sufficient for use in this remote northern region.

After this series of actions, Xia Wei was convinced, regardless of what others might think. He finally realized that the new governor of Bingzhou, Yuan Shu, and his team were truly capable of getting things done and were unlike any of the previous officials.

Those officials only know how to talk big. They talk a lot, but when it comes to actually doing something, they all shrink back faster than anyone else. So in the end, we can only rely on ourselves.

But Yuan Shu and his subordinates are different. The most direct rule is that they do what they say.

According to Lian Da, it seems to be called something like this...

The unity of knowledge and action.

Xia Wei had heard of these four words and the reputation of this theory. He knew that it was a doctrine proposed by Yuan Shu himself. However, he did not expect that Yuan Shu was also the kind of person who did what he said. He felt that such a person should not appear in such a high-ranking and powerful place.

But then he showed up.

Is this a coincidence or an accident?
Xia Wei didn't know.

All he knew was that in this short period of time, Qiangyin County had built a more powerful and effective defense system than it had in the previous ten years. This time, the Xianbei people would not succeed easily, and the county seat of Qiangyin would not be destroyed easily.

He inexplicably gained confidence.

On November 27th of the second year of the Zhengshi era, the Xianbei people arrived. Compared to previous years, their southward journey seemed to have been delayed, and the reason was unknown, but they finally arrived.

At dawn that day, horns sounded from the city wall. The horns were deep and long, carrying a desolate feeling, instantly awakening the fighting genes hidden in the blood of the Han people.

Lian Da immediately ordered the entire army to be on high alert, and all men, women, and children in the city were put into a state of war.

Lian Da himself, fully armored, quickly climbed to the top of the city wall, and then saw the Xianbei cavalry appearing from the horizon. At first, there were only a few scattered people, but then more and more of them appeared, gradually turning into a huge, dark mass that stretched as far as the eye could see, like locusts swarming in, extremely intimidating.

Lian Da immediately ordered the lighting of beacon fires to warn the entire county.

Thick black smoke rose into the sky, proving that this ancient yet practical early warning system continues to play its role tenaciously.

As time went by, the endless Xianbei cavalry galloped toward Qiangyin County, getting closer and closer.

Although there was some panic in the county, it did not affect the overall situation; rather than panic, it was more of a worry.

Even Lian Da thought the people in this city were too calm and indifferent. Back then, the people in Maoling County were not like this at all; they were crying and wailing.

Perhaps their long-standing circumstances had made them accustomed to this situation, and they had become used to it, but the space of death still lingered in their minds, impossible to shake off.

However, this time, they have encountered the biggest variable.

That was the Tianxiong Army.

"Order the entire army to prepare for battle. When the Xianbei begin their attack, first use crossbows, then powerful crossbows, and finally bows and arrows. All soldiers must prepare according to the previously prescribed tactics without fail!"

Lian Da relayed the order, and immediately a messenger delivered the message to the location of the crossbowmen below the city wall, handing it over to the commanding officers.

Lian Da was, after all, a member of the Yixin Society and had received relatively comprehensive military education. He knew that military campaigns were not something to be decided on a whim or by chance; there were rules and methods involved.

The barricades and pitfalls outside the city did not appear there by chance.

When Lian Da designed the defenses, he had already calculated the range of various long-range strike weapons, and the layers of defense outside the city were set up according to this distance.

The first ring of barricades is within the range of a crossbow, followed by a series of traps. The next ring is within the range of a powerful crossbow, followed by another series of traps. The last ring is within the range of a regular infantry bow, and beyond that, there is the city wall.

Since the entire Qiangyin County was not very large, Lian Da directly set up three defensive layers, intending to use these three layers to block the Xianbei people and let them experience the power of technology.

By the time they broke through three defensive layers, they had likely suffered heavy losses. What awaited them, besides arrows, were ring-pommel swords and spears, as well as rolling logs, boulders, and fragrant, freshly boiled gravy.

During this period, Lian Da had been collecting everyone's excrement and ordered everyone to collect their excrement and urine, load it up, and deliver it to a designated location for the government to handle.

Although it does smell a bit, it's not that bad. In the dead of winter, the smell has long been suppressed by the cold. But as long as you add water and boil it again, it will be a good pot of poop again!
Come on, you bunch of Xianbei barbarians!
Lian Da felt worried and a little fearful, but he was more excited and thrilled. He had never met the Xianbei people before, nor had he ever witnessed how they fought. He had only heard that they were very good at fighting.

How do they compare to the Qiang people?

How does it compare to the rebels?

He would find the answers to all these questions in this war. Meanwhile, the Xianbei cavalry that was invading Yanmen County along the predetermined route was led by Hulanji, a general under Tanshihuai, one of the Xianbei leaders in the central region.

He was ordered by Tan Shihuai to lead 10,000 cavalry south to Yanmen County, intending to continue along the same road to plunder the county and obtain the planned population, food, cloth, salt, and other supplies before returning.

To be honest, at first, he didn't really have any sense of vigilance or importance, because in the past five or six years, he had led his troops to raid Yanmen County four times, and each time he returned with a full load, plundering a large number of Han slaves and daily necessities.

In his eyes, Yanmen County was like his sheepfold. He would put the sheep in the sheepfold to graze and grow fat, and when the time was right, he could go into the sheepfold and select the fattest ones to slaughter and eat.

Actually, Tan Shihuai did not initially plan to go south this year. On his way to attack eastward, he conquered many disobedient tribes and captured a large number of people, including a significant number of people who knew how to use fishing nets.

Tan Shihuai was overjoyed and immediately ordered them to fish in the rivers of the Xianbei-controlled area. From spring to autumn, they caught a large number of fish. Some were eaten, and the rest were dried to serve as food for the winter. Every household prepared a lot of fish.

So the Xianbei people didn't actually lack food that winter, and their fighting spirit wasn't very high.

However, Tan Shihuai heard that Bingzhou in the Han Dynasty had a new leader, and the new governor of Bingzhou had said that he would reorganize the border defense and launch a northern expedition against the Xianbei, which piqued Tan Shihuai's interest.

Besides, Tan Shihuai was also a little angry. His long-standing experience of riddling the Han Dynasty's border defenses with bullets made him look down on the Han Dynasty's border defenses and develop a sense of superiority. Now, upon hearing this rumor, he felt that he had been provoked.

So he decided to send men south to plunder and teach this arrogant new governor of Bingzhou a lesson, to let him know that whether the border is in chaos or not is up to him, Tan Shihuai.

Therefore, Tan Shihuai ordered his capable subordinate Hulanji to lead 10,000 cavalry south to Yanmen County to give Yuan Shu a taste of his power, dampen his arrogance, and incidentally plunder some rice, salt, cooking utensils, and other such items.

Tan Shihuai discovered that fish soup was very delicious and flavorful. He thought that if it was eaten with rice cakes, the taste would be even more wonderful, so he came up with this idea.

Besides Hulanji's group, Tanshihuai also ordered another group to raid Liangzhou and another group to raid Youzhou, each to plunder some rice and salt.

However, neither Tan Shihuai nor Hulanji realized that the enemy they were facing was different from the one in the past. Even though Hulanji had not found anyone since entering Han territory, he did not find it strange.

In winter, Han people usually prefer to stay indoors in cities and houses. Although he didn't see the caravans, civilians, and unfortunate soldiers that used to come and go, Hulanji didn't feel anything was amiss.

It wasn't until they were almost at Qiangyin County that Hulanji learned from the scouts that the county's defenses this year were a bit strange, which piqued his interest slightly.

After leading his cavalry quickly to Qiangyin County, he stopped about five or six miles from the county seat. He led some soldiers forward to observe and discovered that Qiangyin County this year was indeed different from previous years.

In previous years, apart from a low, dilapidated city and trembling Han people, where in Qiangyin County was there such a sight?
Looking into the distance, banners fluttered on the city walls, which were filled with Han soldiers. Looking outside the city, one could see that there were barricades everywhere, a dense circle that almost enveloped the entire Qiangyin County. If one wanted to approach and attack the city, it would be impossible without removing all of these barricades.

What's even more interesting is that the scouts who were scouting around the area soon reported that in the past, there were no traces of Han people in the area, and the houses were all empty, with no food or valuables to be found anywhere.

This surprised Hulanji greatly.

"Could it be that this group of Han people have taken all their valuables and hidden in this city? No wonder the defenses are so strong this year; it seems they have improved somewhat."

Hulanji squinted at the distant Qiangyin County, lost in thought.

The subordinates around him looked at each other and then asked Hulanji what to do next.

The Han people are all hiding in this tortoise shell. Should we smash this tortoise shell or continue south to find those easy targets?

In fact, in such cold weather, no one really wanted to launch an attack. Moreover, they hadn't brought many siege weapons with them on this southward journey. Many of the ones they had captured earlier hadn't been properly maintained on the grasslands and had already rotted away. Right now, they only had a dozen or so siege ladders left, so they didn't have much siege equipment.

Forcibly attacking Han Chinese cities was never the first choice for Xianbei cavalry. Sneak attacks, rapid raids, and hit-and-run tactics were the three signature moves of the Xianbei.

Hulanji was initially hesitant to fight back against the Han people's formidable defenses in the dead of winter, but Tanshihuai's orders were to teach the Han people a lesson and intimidate the newly appointed governor of Bingzhou.

This is a political task; if it's not done well, there will be punishment.

Moreover, what if we go south and encounter these same turtle shells again?

Qiangyin County is already an easy target. Further south, we will have to cross the Great Wall and encounter some larger cities, which will increase the risk.

Hulanji did not want his troops to suffer too many losses, so he rejected his subordinates' suggestion. He decided to besiege Qiangyin County on the spot, destroy it, and then leave, taking the spoils home for the winter.

Hulanji then ordered the Xianbei soldiers to surround the city. After dismounting and making some preparations, he began to remove the barricades.

As a long-time adversary of the Han people, having fought them for over a decade and repeatedly gained the upper hand, the Xianbei were very familiar with how to deal with barricades and pitfalls. They skillfully dismounted and charged forward with various tools, shouting loudly, as if celebrating their victory in advance.

Then they made their biggest mistake – opening champagne at halftime.

(End of this chapter)